The Price of Secrecy
by Olafur Neal
Summary: The title makes this sound all dark and mysterious but really it's an OTP AU where one of them is a Superhero. So really this started out as a fluffy au writing exercise that became a fanfic.


**A/N: This is from a tumblr post of Superhero AUs. Which is a list I might revisit, but we shall see. Basically the idea is Person A finds out Person B is a Superhero and their blackmail price is brownies. Person B is mildly offended but also thinks it's kinda cute. Thanks to themagnificentsquid for reading the fic first because without her praise I don't know if I would have even moved forward with posting it. Also many thanks to ellie5192 for the Aussie English beta and also for her words of encouragement!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own these characters in anyway. I am just having fun with them. Please don't sue, I have nothing but student loan debt and really who wants that.**

His neighbour stood in her doorway, hands on hips and fire in her eyes. For someone that barely came up to his shoulder in her barefeet she could intimidate with the best of them. Granted she was also the famed Garnet Fox, he could see how that would help her intimidation factor. Now that he figured out her secret, he couldn't not see her in the deep green mask and matching tights. Were superheros all supposed to wear tights? Not that he was complaining about her wearing tights.

She was talking now and he should be listening.

Hands still on hips she spoke through clenched jaw, "And just what do you intend on doing with that information Lucien?"

The stupid smile on his face dropped. He wasn't sure what he was going to do. When the penny dropped that his blunt and gorgeous neighbour Jean Beazley was an actual superhero, that could pick up actual cars, he had run from his flat to hers and after that he hadn't come up with much of a plan.

Rolling her eyes Jean grabbed his shirt and pulled him into her flat.

"You realize you can't tell anybody." She walked into her kitchen, filling up the electric tea kettle.

He was still staring at her. She sighed and continued to go through the motions of preparing tea for herself and her unintended guest. It was easier to think when she was doing something with her hands. His silence was unnerving, he was the brooding type, but could turn on the charm when he wanted to. She still hadn't quite figured him out, he had moved into the building a few months ago and seemed nice. Emphasis on seemed.

The tea kettle clicked off and she sighed again deeply, might as well get to the meat of the conversation. She knew she'd have to offer him something for his silence, in her experience people didn't do favors for nothing and he was still a mystery.

She wasn't going to let him blackmail her but maybe she could get out of this without threatening to put him through a wall. She was a superhero after all, had a reputation to maintain. "You probably want something from me. To keep quiet."

Lucien's brow crinkled. Want something? In passing he had thought maybe asking her out on a date, but he wasn't about to ask for that in exchange for his silence. He wasn't that kind of person. He saw the steel flint in her eyes and knew that there had to have been a lot of pain in her life to make her automatically assume he'd try and use her because he held a secret of hers.

This is not what he had imagined when he had met her at the block party three months ago. She had been astute, interesting, and guarded. He immediately wanted to get to know her more. He also wanted more of the brownies she had brought.

"Your brownies. I want your brownies." He blushed when he realized what he had blurted out.

Jean looked up at him, eyes wide, mouth open. The spoon in her hand hovering over her mug of tea.

"You want my what?"

He rubbed the back of his head, this was not how he imagined this conversation going. He hadn't come over with a plan but if he had one this wouldn't have been in it. "I liked the brownies you baked for the building party."

She watched as his eyebrows drew together as if he had confused himself. In any other situation she might have found it endearing but right now it was infuriating. He knew the one secret that could ruin her life if he told anyone and he wanted brownies in exchange for his continued secrecy?

He could tell she was insulted or maybe confused. He was confused. "I didn't come here expecting anything from you. I work for VicPol, in forensics. So I'm good at solving things and I think you're kind of amazing as just Jean Beazley and I love what you do as the Garnet Fox and I got excited and I didn't really have a plan in coming here. So when you asked if I wanted anything I remembered the brownies you made..."

He had officially made a fool of himself but the slow smile on her face when he finished blabbering was worth his forever foolish status.

Jean set the spoon in her hand down, in her stress she had left the impressions of her fingers in the metal. Not the first time it had happened, nor- probably- the last. She hadn't met many men like him in the past. He was built like a frat boy but had the awkwardness of one of those nerds in school who hadn't made many friends. And he was smart too.

"I think I can manage brownies."


End file.
